AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Upgraded to “Outperform” by William Blair

William Blair upgraded shares of AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other research firms have also commented on ATR. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AptarGroup from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

AptarGroup stock opened at $146.38 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $141.15 and its 200 day moving average is $132.31. AptarGroup has a 1-year low of $111.63 and a 1-year high of $148.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $838.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $842.50 million. AptarGroup had a net margin of 8.83% and a return on equity of 15.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that AptarGroup will post 5.21 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup news, Director Monnas Giovanna Kampouri sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.45, for a total value of $284,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,374,357.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other AptarGroup news, Director Monnas Giovanna Kampouri sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.45, for a total value of $284,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,374,357.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 32,000 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.67, for a total transaction of $4,533,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,528,930.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,500 shares of company stock worth $5,318,280. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 39.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 3.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 194,028 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,261,000 after acquiring an additional 5,931 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 1.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 11,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its stake in AptarGroup by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 12,797 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 15.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,136 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,517,000 after buying an additional 1,640 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AptarGroup

AptarGroup, Inc designs and manufactures a range of drug delivery, consumer product dispensing, and active material science solutions and services for the pharmaceutical, beauty, personal care, home care, and food and beverage markets. The company operates through Aptar Pharma, Aptar Beauty, and Aptar Closures segments.